A computer is just a tool. The iPhone / iPad only does X. Apple don’t allow it to do Y. The blogosphere is so totally hung up on “It doesn’t do Y, it doesn’t do Y!!” that they are missing the fact that consumers can only see what it _can_ do—X—and are so blown away by how well it does X that they don’t care that it can’t do Y; they didn’t buy it because they expected it to someday do Y too, that would just be a pleasant bonus. It does X better than even things that do X and Y that they want it. It’s only developers Apple are screwing here, not users.

Bingo. My iPod touch is hands down the best portable computer I've ever owned, and I include my venerable old PowerBook G3 in that group. Why? Because it puts nearly every portable tool I need in my pocket. I have--via free apps all the way around--a remote desktop tool, a WiFi scanner capable of detecting "hidden" APs, several calculators including statistical, financial and graphing, a full featured PIM that syncs with my Mac with no clunky third party interface, a SIP phone, a police scanner, a GPS enabled mapping program...the list goes on.

I've even tried it jailbroken, and there was nothing of value to me in the Cydia and Rock stores compared to the official App Store, with the obvious exception of Google Voice. So, even though I had access to the "Y" stuff, I reverted to the stock "X" selections and am doing just fine.

And honestly, I really don't think Apple is screwing the developers, at least from a financial sense. The App Store is (from my outsider-looking-in POV) one of the most financially sound and reliable sources of revenue a coder is likely to ever see, at least if they have the entrepreneurial spirit. Perhaps those programmers used to the code-monkey grind at a Fortune 500 company would be fearful of taking the plunge. Likewise, open-source coders probably won't find anything they like about Apple's model. All I can say is, if I had the programming skills I'd jump at the chance to make a buck on the App Store.

And honestly, I really don't think Apple is screwing the developers, at least from a financial sense. The App Store is (from my outsider-looking-in POV) one of the most financially sound and reliable sources of revenue a coder is likely to ever see, at least if they have the entrepreneurial spirit. Perhaps those programmers used to the code-monkey grind at a Fortune 500 company would be fearful of taking the plunge. Likewise, open-source coders probably won't find anything they like about Apple's model. All I can say is, if I had the programming skills I'd jump at the chance to make a buck on the App Store.

It's not about finances. It's about apple having the right to remove your application from their device without even having to explain their move clearly. And getting 50$ as a compensation for all your developing work.

Apple's programming model is one of the most important regression ever seen in the recent computing history (the other being the whole cloud idea). Users and amateur developers had gotten the right of having personal programmable computers, where they can code and put any program they want. The apple model is basically throwing that and going back to the "we own your data, we own your code, we own your computer" model, back to the days of punch cards and insane fees per hour of computing.

You're right of course, but one might argue that that is the price one pays for such an easy market to get into. Personally I do think Apple makes some insanely stupid decisions regarding apps (Google Voice for example).

However, developers run into the same type of "we own you" mentality in the F/OSS world too. Just try contributing to Debian without being a favorite son, for example. The only difference is iPhone developers lose money as well as time spent on their projects.